


On the Rise

by mggislife2789



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drinking, F/M, Gen, Reader-Insert, Xenophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2019-01-30 14:36:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12655485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mggislife2789/pseuds/mggislife2789
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original stories. This is only for fun. It's where my brain goes after the credits roll. No copyright intended. Better safe than sorry. ;)





	On the Rise

For Y/N, dual citizenship was both a blessing and a curse during her childhood and teenage years. Fluent in two languages, she grew up knowing there were people who lived and thrived outside the small little worlds in which she lived. Mornings in Nice, France consisted of her walking to school and occasionally stopping by a store to grab a quick sweet treat. On the way home, she would be able to pass the beauty of shoreline and watch the surf crash into the sand before going home to finish her homework. 

Just before middle school, her father was transferred to the States for work, and while her father excelled in his new role and her mother quickly made good friends, Y/N struggled. Middle school and high school were difficult without being outwardly “different” from the general population. If you were gay, you got made fun of. If you were disabled, you got made fun of. And for Y/N, it was her accent. French was her mother tongue; she knew English, but she couldn’t speak it very well. Trying to speak English with a heavy accent was an accomplishment - at least that’s what her father told her, but as soon as she opened her mouth in school, she was told to go home - that if she couldn’t speak English she should go back to where she came from.

Relentlessly, over years and years, she was made fun of by other students until senior year when she couldn’t take it anymore. Every single day, she’d come home in tears, wishing that people weren’t so horrible. She’d always been proud of where she came from, and she would never let anyone change that, but being made fun of was still hard no matter how proud she was of who she was.

After going back to France to live with her aunt for the remainder of high school, she pursued a dual degree in criminology and psychology in college, all the while perfecting her English and maintaining her native tongue. That’s why she kind of wanted to vomit when she got notified that she’d earned a spot at the BAU. Although she’d worked hard to get where she was, it would mean returning to the United States.

She was an adult now. Hopefully, her peers were the same, no longer children throwing insults, but the fear was always there. She’d been through so much in high school that rationality took a spin out the window. All rational thought was replaced by the hell that middle school and high school had been; she’d been scarred, and the wounds were just beginning to heal.

“Agent Y/N Y/L/N,” Section Chief Cruz said as she entered. “I’d like to personally welcome you aboard.”

“Thank you,” she said, her former accent nearly gone. “Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.”

Apparently, she and Unit Chief Prentiss had picked her out of numerous candidates for a combination of her athleticism, her intelligence and her grasp of many languages. In addition to French and English, Y/N had also picked up Spanish and Italian over the years. “I did tell Unit Chief Prentiss about your wishes regarding your background remaining closed. For whatever reasons you want to keep it to yourself, that’s fine, as long as a case never depends on it.”

“If it does, I will absolutely let them know,” she replied. “It’s just something I’m not comfortable with right now.”

“No problem. Let’s go introduce you to your new team.”

As she walked beside Section Chief Cruz, she couldn’t help but feel an emptiness in the pit of her stomach, slowly gnawing away from nervousness. “Ah, Agent Y/L/N,” Emily greeted. Apparently, she’d already seen your picture. “Everyone this is out new team member, Y/N Y/L/N.” She started pointing around the room, introducing all the other agents; this was an extensive team. “These are Agent Jennifer Jareau, Luke Alvez, Matt Simmons, David Rossi, our technical analyst Penelope Garcia, and Drs. Spencer Reid and Tara Lewis.”

“Nice to meet you all.”

—-

Seconds after being introducer to her new team, Y/N and the rest of the BAU were taken away on a case, leaving no time for her to be nervous. Over the next few months, cases came across their desk pretty consistently, but in their off time, she got to know the team - it was all in generalities. Parents were amazing. School sucked, with the exception of college. No time for relationships. Few close friends and a lot of acquaintances. Nothing too telling about where she came from. 

“We going out tonight?” Emily asked.

Rossi waved them off. “Have fun my children, I’m off to see Joy and Kai.”

Emily and JJ gave him a soft smile and good wishes for his daughter and granddaughter. “The rest of us good to go?”

Matt already asked Kristy if she was cool with him going out; she’d told him to have a good time, and JJ asked the same of Will. They’d been at work so late that Henry and Michael were already asleep. “Let’s go, I need drinks after this week,” Garcia said, practically pulling people into the elevator.

The moment they all got to the bar, drinks were ordered. It took about an hour and a half for everyone to get three drinks deep. And then all of a sudden, Y/N started speaking with her accent again; booze had a way of doing that to her. “Woah! Where did the accent come from?” Garcia asked. “It’s so sexy!”

She hadn’t even realized and decided to tell them. They seemed cool, she was just hoping that the illusion wasn’t broken when she told them where she grew up and why she’d kept it from them. “I was born in Nice.”

“Really?” JJ asked. “You’re accent hasn’t come out until now.”

“That’s the booze,” she laughed. “And I had issues with people making fun of my accent and my inability to speak English perfectly when I was in middle school and high school. I had some horrible experiences, so I decided to keep it from people, afraid that I’d be judged again.”

“That age group sucks!” Tara exclaimed. “There are a few people in the Bureau who still have that mindset and I will tell you to steer clear of them, but you know us.”

Y/N took another sip of her drink. “I do now. But I was afraid to say anything and be tortured like I was again. That’s why I didn’t say anything.”

Garcia leaned into her and snaked her arm underneath Y/N’s. “Well, by all means speaking French and let that accent fly free around us because it’s unbelievably sexy. “Vous êtes un ange,” she said. “You are an angel.”

“I don’t understand people,” Spencer said, bringing Y/N another drink. Being bilingual is becoming more and more prevalent in the U.S. The percentage of bilinguals is definitely on the rise. It was 11 percent in 1980, 14 percent in 1990, and nearly 20 percent as of 2012. Five years have passed so it’s likely even higher now. People are dumb. Plus, French is a beautiful language. It’s your native tongue, right?”

Y/N blushed and nodded. She always thought French was beautiful, but middle school and high school were awful. “Je pourrais t'écouter toute la journée, Dr. Reid,” she whispered. Apparently, she also got flirty when drunk, and she definitely had a crush on the BAU’s resident genius. “Maybe we could go for a coffee sometime?” She asked as the rest of the team delved back into random conversation.

“I’d love that.”


End file.
